Blue Jackets CHL Season In Review

By Aaron Vickers

July 19th, 2003

Three CHL Blue Jacket prospects have parted ways with the club this offseason:Kiel McLeod, Ryan Bowness and Cole Jarrett. McLeod signed with Phoenix; Bowness and Jarrett were not tendered an offers. The 2003 Entry Draft brought CHL additions such as Phillipe Dupuis, Dan Fritsche, Trevor Hendrikx,MathieuGravel and Marc Method. A glimpse into the 2002-03 CHL season may also allow a glimpse into the future for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Steven Goertzen, the pride of Stony Plain,Alberta, completed his second Western Hockey League season with theSeattle Thunderbirds. While his play wouldn’t be described asspectacular, his steady contribution from the third line allowed otherson the club, like Brooks Laichto focus solely on the offensive chores of the club. Finishing with 31points (12-19-31) in 71 games, Goertzen set career marks inevery category.

Tim Konsorada had his most successful season inthe Western Hockey League in 2002-03. Simply put, Konsorada establishedhimself as a force with the Brandon Wheat Kings. Adding secondaryscoring including Jordin Tootoo,Ryan Craig and 2003 first roundselection Eric Fehrestablished the Wheat Kings as a club to watch in 2003-04. Konsoradahimself received recognition for his abilities as well, and was namedto the 2003 Canadian Junior Developmental Summer Camp. Among Jacketprospects, Konsorada elevated his play like no other, and increased hisstock within the organization.

To say the least, the first season of NorthAmerican hockey was trying for Ole-Kristian Tollefsen. A season riddled with injuries marked Tollefsen’s adjustment to junior hockey inWestern Canada. Tollefsen suffered from at least a half-dozendifferent injuries this season, including a concussion, whiplash, ashoulder injury and laceration to his forearm. Despite this,Tollefsen’s play seemed to rebound after each injury, and was a solidcontributor for the Wheat Kings.

Andrew Penner was the only survivor of ColumbusBlue Jacket prospects in the Ontario Hockey League. Offered a contractnearly two years ago, Penner finished up his junior career with theGuelph Storm after starting with the North Bay Centennials. In fact, itappears as though Penner saved the best for last, finally emerging as atrue no. 1 goaltender in the Ontario Hockey League. Setting career marksin games and minutes played, Penner also set career marks in goalsagainst average, wins and save percentage. Penner will experience life inprofessional hockey next season, likely with the Dayton Bombers of theECHL.

Ryan Bowness was a victim of the contract game, ashe was not tendered an offer from the Columbus organization. Theinteresting aspect of this is that the now unrestricted free agent hadattended the Columbus Blue Jackets Developmental Camp, which concludedJuly 5th. The Halifax, Nova Scotia native significantly improved hisoffensive numbers in 2002-03, which may be why the Columbus BlueJackets are considering giving the Battalion forward another look.

When Dan Fritsche was still on the board when the Columbus Blue Jacketsselected in the second round, 46th overall, there was no hesitation inselecting Dan Fritsche. It is interesting to consider that, with thedeparture of the 6’5″ Kiel McLeod, General Manager Doug MacLean woulduse a high draft selection to take the 6’1″ Fritsche, ranked 10th amongNorth American Skaters entering the draft. While there may be concernwith his shoulders, an injury sustained in the 2001-02 season, Fritscheshowed little to no effect of the injuries in 2002-03.

It is very likely that Marc Methot was selected to add some size to the Columbus Blue Jackets defensive core. Standing at6’3″, Methot’s role would simply be that of a stay at home defenseman,similar to the role he plays with the OHL’s London Knights. Methot, theyoungest defenseman in the Jackets organization, certainly wasn’tconsidered an offensive threat, nor will he be mistaken for one in thefuture, however he can chip in with some points from time to time.Methot certainly had an impressive rookie campaign in 2002-03 with theKnights, and Columbus management hopes he can replicate that successnext season, hoping he can raise his game to another level now thathe’s accustomed to Major Junior hockey.

Trevor Hendrikx, much like Marc Methot, was selected in theninth round of the 2003 Entry Draft, simply to add some depth to thepool of talent the Columbus Blue Jackets may be able to dip into in thedistant future. No one will mistake Hendrikx’s offensive flair (orlackthereof) with that of a DerrickWalser, however it is Hendrikx’s ability to clear the creasethat makes him attractive and valuable to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Itwill be his crease clearing ability and defensive zone coverage thatwill decide how far Hendrikx can go with his hockey career.

Aaron Johnson remains the best defensive prospectin the Columbus Blue Jackets organization. His season with the RimouskiOceanic and later with the Quebec Remparts in 2002-03 was his bestseason on record, and the first time in his QMJHL career where heaveraged over a point-per-game. The trade which sent him to Quebec 25games into the season also gave Johnson the opportunity to compete forthe Memorial Cup, and went up against former Jackets prospect KielMcLeod and his Kelowna Rockets. Aaron was recently signed by theorganization, and will likely begin play with the Syracuse Crunch ofthe American Hockey League.

In a draft that was North American dominated, the2003 Entry Draft saw Hull Olympiques centre Phillipe Dupuis fall intothe hands of the Columubs Blue Jackets. Originally ranked 56th in thefinal installment of the Central Scouting Bureau North American rankings, Dupuiswas selected 104th overall. At that placement, Dupuis may very welldevelop into a steal. Phillipe managed to have a very strong 2002-03campaign, which saw him tally a total of 56 points (22-34-56) in 68games, an improvement of 35 points over his previous season. Theoffensively dominaged QMJHL may very well be a good breeding ground forthe Laval, Quebec native to develop his offensive skills, whileworrying about developing his two-way game at a later date.

Mathieu Gravel was added to the Columubs organization for tworeasons. Gravel has an offensive flair when he gets around the net. Aswell, Gravel stands at a reported 6’3.5″. An imposing frame issomething the Columbus Blue Jackets are lacking, both in theirprospects as well as with the main club. Gravel could be one of themore interesting prospects that Jacket fans should watch out for.